Bramblepool
by Darth RitzKlaw
Summary: So we all know that Brambleclaw ends up with Squirrelflight. But, as a huge Brambleclaw fan, I think he can do SO much better than her. So, what would happen if he looked to the other sister? Will chaos break out, or will peace and love reign?
1. The Beginning

Brambleclaw sat by the fresh-kill pile in the ThunderClan, basking in the Green-Leaf sun. As deputy of the Clan, he was happy to see the pile freshly stocked. It raised the morale of his warriors considerably to be fighting on a full stomach. The tom sighed. He and Firestar had hoped this Green-Leaf season wouldn't be threatened by battle or drought, but it seemed that the former deputy of WindClan, Mudclaw, was causing trouble for Onewhisker. On his death-bed, Tallstar, the previous leader of WindClan, had appointed Onewhisker as his successor, even though his deputy was Mudclaw. This had obviously caused dissent in the ranks of WindClan. Firestar expected a fight to break out daily. Brambleclaw didn't fully support the prospect of ThunderClan going to war over something that didn't concern his Clan whatsoever, but Onewhisker was Firestar's old friend. There was no questioning that Firestar would support Onewhisker if conflict broke out.

He shook his head to rid himself of the troubling thoughts, and he turned to look at his clan-mates. Most of them were sharing tongues with their friends, family... and mates.

Instantly, he felt himself turn and stare at the medicine cat den. Almost as if on cue, Leafpool, the daughter of Firestar and Sandstorm, emerged from the den. He stared at the she-cat, enthralled. His eyes widened a little... okay, a lot.

This continued for a while.

'Brambleclaw! I need to talk to you.'

Brambleclaw blocked out all noise, concentrating only on the matter at paw.

'Brambleclaw?'

A group of apprentices got in the way of his view. Quickly, he craned his to the left, trying in vain to-

'BRAMBLECLAW!'

Finally, the deputy turned his head grudgingly away from Leafpool to see his friend, Brackenfur, standing behind him. 'What is it?' Brambleclaw snapped. 'Can't you see I'm busy?'

Brackenfur stepped back a little, clearly taken back at his tone. 'Um... well... I was wondering if me and Sorreltail could go to the Gathering tonight. It's been a while.'

Immediately, Brambleclaw ran his tongue quickly down his pelt, smoothing down his fur. Every time he got... distracted... like that, it always ended up with him snapping at a clan-mate. 'I'm sorry.' He apologized to his friend. 'It's just, well... I'm in a bad mood at the moment.'

Brackenfur rolled his eyes. 'Well, if all the things you're occupied in the day with is staring at she-cats, then I think I have the right to interfere.'

_Oh damn. _Brambleclaw felt his heart dropping like a stone. _He didn't see me staring at Leafpool, did he? _'Oh! Um—' he managed to choke out. 'Well, I, I can explain-'

Brackenfur purred with amusement. 'Look Brambleclaw, every cat knows you like Squirrelflight. There's really no reason to try and hide it.'

Brambleclaw nearly died of shock. 'WHAT?!' He yelled, making several members of ThunderClan turn to face him. 'I'm sorry, just what?!'

'You were just staring at Squirrelflight, weren't you?' Brackenfur said, sitting down and beginning to groom his whiskers.

Brambleclaw turned around in horror, his eyes wide. The place where Leafpool was sitting at the time he had been staring at her, was now occupied by the medicine cat's sister, Squirrelflight. He rolled his eyes. _How convenient, _he thought sarcastically. It seemed to always happen the same. Whenever he actually managed to get a look at Leafpool on her own, her retarded sister would always turn up and make everyone think he was staring at her. Who in their right minds would check Squirrelflight out? He had just about managed to handle her in the Great Journey, but it was a miracle he had survived her seemingly tireless annoyingness.

Seriously, he admired her stamina. That was it.

Brambleclaw had no idea how Leafpool and Squirrelflight had been born to the same parents. They were both total opposites. There was the absolute epitome of beauty, kindness and amazingness in every way. Then there was Squirrelflight. Leafpool could actually be classed as a cat. Squirrelflight? Not so much.

Third, Leafpool had to be the most beautiful cat to have ever existed in the Clans. Her pelt was so silky, and had the most beautiful and rich tortoiseshell fur that he had ever seen. Her eyes were a deep shade of amber, flecked with gold, just the like the rising sun. Whenever he stepped within five fox-lengths of her, he felt himself growing hot. He knew it was wrong to feel the way he did about a medicine cat, (it was breaking every rule in the code) but he didn't really give one. StarClan, he could hardly breathe whenever she spoke!

Mind you, Brambleclaw could hardly breathe when Squirrelflight spoke, but that was for an entirely different reason.

'Just for the record, Brackenfur.' He said, slowly. The tom got up and pressed his face against Brackenfur's. 'I . DON'T. LIKE. SQUIRRELFLIGHT.

In a lower tone, he added, 'I'll explain later...'


	2. Explanations

'Okay,' began Brambleclaw. He and Brackenfur had offered to go hunting, though really they just needed some privacy. 'I may... or may not, of course... theoretically, I mean... be, hypothetically, of course, in love with a theoretic hypothetic possible medicine cat. Maybe. And by a horrible turn of hypothetical theoretical events that hypothetically have nothing to theoretically do with me... It may not be hypothetical. Maybe.'

Silence.

'Do I make myself clear?!'

'Umm... not really, no.'

'Okay, I'll start again. I may-'

'STARCLAN NO! I GET THE IDEA! SPARE MEEEEE... JUST MAKE IT SIMPLE!' Brackenfur sobbed.

'...I'minlovewithleafpool.' Brambleclaw said, at roughly 20 words per second.

'What? Didn't quite catch that.'

'... Iloveleafpoolokaydidjagetthatiminlovewiththemedicinecatofthunderclaniminlovewithleafpool.' He replied.

Brackenfur face-pawed.

'I... am... in... love... with... Leafpool. OKAY?!'

'You... are in love with the leader's daughter. Who's a medicine cat. And you're deputy?!'

Brambleclaw nodded sheepishly. His eyes were fixed firmly on the ground. He couldn't meet Brackenfur's steady gaze.

'Right. Okay.'

Brambleclaw stared in shock as his friend chased after a mouse. _He doesn't care._ Brambleclaw thought. _Why? Will he tell Firestar? Hmm..._

'Ow! Fox dung.' Brambleclaw yowled. He had stepped on a large thorn and got it stuck in his pad.

Sorreltail (who had said she would accompany them but had been left behind when the toms were 'chasing that fast looking mouse.' which Brambleclaw had seen) ran up. 'Are you okay?' she asked, looking at his pad. 'Ooh... You'd better go and see Leafpool about that.'

_Gladly._ 'If I must...' He tried to make his sigh sound resigned rather than wistful.


	3. Quick Thinking

Leafpool looked at him incredulously. 'You have got a thorn in your pad. Are you a deputy or a kit, Brambleclaw?' She pulled it out.

_Oh. Um... Think fast..._ As she turned away, he scratched a cut down his shoulder. 'Leafpool, I didn't just come about a thorn.' He laughed. 'My shoulder's been hurt.'

Leafpool turned around and gasped. 'Brambleclaw! Why didn't you say so?' she ran over and inspected the wound. She looked up warily. 'What happened?' she asked.

'I... snagged it on a branch.' He said slowly.

'Oh, you poor cat.' She muttered sympathetically as she looked for the right herbs.

Just then, Firestar walked in. 'Both of you, there's been a sighting of a huge group of warriors heading towards our territory. It looks like WindClan.'

Leafpool hurried out, leaving Brambleclaw standing there. Silently, he cursed WindClan and followed her.

'All cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather under the Highledge for a clan meeting.'

He heard the familiar call ring out, as cats emerged from dens around the edge of the camp to listen to their leader.

'... And so, if it comes to a battle. We stand by Onewhisker. Understood?'

'Yes!' roared ThunderClan as one.


	4. The Battle Part1

'FIRESTAR! THEY'RE HERE AND... WHAT? ONESTAR **AND** MUDCLAW ARE LEADING THE CHARGE!?' Brambleclaw yelled as he ran into the ThunderClan camp.

He had no time to feel confused. He started positioning warriors with Firestar. Then WindClan arrived.

They ran in and began to attack. As the warriors streamed in, Brambleclaw realised that RiverClan were here too. He saw Crowfeather. He ran over and engaged him.

'Get... off... mouse-brain... I'm here to see... Leafpool!'

Brambleclaw was stunned. A thought flashed through his head. He would kill Crowfeather and leave him to get trampled in the battle and then, afterwards, when Leafpool found him, she would be grief stricken and he, Brambleclaw, would be there for her while the rest of the clan shunned her for still having feelings for the WindClan warrior. Then, over time, as she grew more and more ccustomed to hanging around with him, they would become friends. Then, best-friends. Then, hopefully, they would become more than that... He fantasised while Crowfeather struggled below his paws. He and Leafpool, frolicking in a luscious field of green... He shook himself. _Well that was weird._ He thought. But no. He was a good warrior, and he was destined to be a great leader of ThunderClan, except he would go about it the right way, unlike his father, the brutal traitorous murderer, Tigerstar.

He let Crowfeather get up and led him towards the medicine cat den. Leafpool rushed out. She licked Crowfeather happily while Brambleclaw tried his very best not to feel too jealous of the black-pelted warrior who was the object of his love's affection. Then Leafpool looked over Brambleclaw's shoulder and shuddered.

'Look out!'


	5. The Battle Part2

Brambleclaw whirled around to see Mudclaw leap at him. He flinched as Mudclaw crashed into him and began to claw bits of his fur out. He hissed in fury and battered Mudclaw's belly.

'Get off me you-'

'Shut up, Bramblewimp. Your days are numbered. Since that lump of fox-dung Firestar came into the forest, you ThunderClan cats have had all the attention. You think you're better than the rest of us? Well, you're not. To top it all off, that brat Crowfeather got to go on your stupid journey instead of me. I am deputy of WindClan; I am going to be leader and I WILL BE RESPECTED!' said Mudclaw, tough how he went from prophecies to respect was beyond Brambleclaw. 'So I thought, what better way to teach those fur balls a lesson than attacking and taking over ThunderClan. Yes, that's what I thought. You think you can waltz in and 'save' us from ShadowClan? Well... We'll show you. Yes we will! WE WILL! But I think I'll kill you inventively.' Mudclaw added, as an afterthought. As he looked down and made eye contact with his victim, Brambleclaw realised with a jolt that Mudclaw wasn't in his right mind. He came as close to shuddering in horror as a cat can come when he's pinned firmly down by a bigger, more experienced warrior who's worked up into frenzy.

The WindClan...Warrior? Deputy? Leader? Co-Leader? Stand in leader? Brambleclaw wasn't sure what to call him. Anyway, Mudclaw took one muddy claw, placed it just below Brambleclaw's neck and slowly started dragging it down, effectively trying to slice Brambleclaw into two.

Suddenly, help came from an unexpected corner. ShadowClan charged in, attacking Wind and River Clans furiously, and renewing the energy in the battered ThunderClan cats.

A flash of fur barrelled Mudclaw off Brambleclaw, but his struggles (along with blood loss) had weakened him so much that he couldn't get up off the hard ground. He looked up to see his saviour. He tried to smile. 'Hiya, Tawnypelt...'


	6. Brambleclaw's Anger

'... And then, because we're such good friends with ThunderClan,' Tawnypelt paused to roll her eyes. 'So basically because Blackstar wanted ThunderClan in debt to ShadowClan, we came here and saved you.' The she-cat finished explaining how a ShadowClan patrol had seen the attack force entering ThunderClan territory and had come to help.

'Did you find out why they attacked us?' asked Brambleclaw.

'Not yet, but we have taken prisoners.' Tawnypelt responded.

Brambleclaw looked around at the devastated camp. This wasn't good. Until they finished repairs, they were still vulnerable to another attack. He noticed Leafpool looking stricken in one corner but tore his gaze away from her and continued estimating the damage.

Then, he saw something that chilled him to the bone. 'BRACKENFUR!' he yelled, running over. The warrior lay still on the ground, coated in dirt and dried blood. 'Leafpool! Get over here!' he screamed. As she sprinted towards them, Brambleclaw reluctantly went to inspect the prisoners. He found the reason for Leafpool's distress. _Crowfeather? What's he still doing...? Oh my StarClan. The fool got captured!_ It was all Brambleclaw could do to not face paw.

Sorreltail limped up to him. 'What do you want us to do?'

'Hmm? Oh...' Brambleclaw realised that several cats were staring expectantly at him. 'Um... Well... How about... The entrance! Work on fixing the entrance. And Dustpelt? Guard the nursery. Squirrelflight, go and gather sticks and place them on the ground ten or fifteen fox lengths from the entrance. They should give us some warning if there's another attack. Brackenfur, you...' he trailed off and walked over to his friend, who was still lying on the ground. He motioned with his tail for everyone else to go away. 'How is he?' he asked Leafpool.

'Not good. He has a very slim chance of living.'

Brambleclaw was stunned.

'We're running out of resources and there are more important things to do, so, I'm really sorry, but we're going to have to leave him.' Leafpool muttered.

Instantly, all of Brambleclaw's sorrow turned to pure fury. 'WHAT?! WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?! YOU WON'T STOP TRYING TO HELP HIM UNTIL HE IS DEAD. YOU AND THE REST OF THE WORLD CAN GO TO THE DARK FOREST FOR ALL I CARE BUT YOU **WILL** SAVE HIM, AND IF YOU RUN OUT OF RESOURCES THEN GET SOME MORE!' he screamed, and he only got more annoyed when the she-cat flinched under his gaze. 'Oh, stop acting like a frightened mouse and... get... some.. HERBS!' He stalked off furiously and continued to issue orders while the clan tried not to show their shock at his words and his tone.

His fur was standing on end as Ferncloud shouted that they were coming again. 'GET INTO POSITION!' Forgetting who the leader was, he took control. 'Firestar, Blackstar and Tawnypelt, get in the entrance. Take as many out as possible. The rest of you, make a solid group behind them. NOW!'

Then, he ran out of the camp on his own and charged into battle. He would show them what came of messing with his best friend...


	7. Help On Its Way

With a furious roar, he charged into the enemy ranks, slashing claws and biting and kicking tirelessly.

None of the other cats could get near enough the infuriated whirling mass of claws and teeth to do any real damage, and Brambleclaw was causing mass destruction in the enemy's lines and their attack plan was breaking down.

The ground was littered with corpses and, as the ThunderClan and ShadowClan warriors advanced steadily into the fray, they were almost wading through blood.

Brambleclaw was fighting like a TigerClan cat and it seemed nobody could stop him. Mudclaw turned and looked at the huge tabby warrior, and his mouth curled more in contempt than fear, he crouched down, body tensed, eyes narrowed to fiery slits, before throwing himself at Brambleclaw with a blood-curdling hiss.

'It ends here, Brambleclaw!' screamed the attacker and brought his claws down. His fur was standing on end to make him look twice his size.

Nothing deterred, Brambleclaw slashed upwards and as his claws met Mudclaw's eyes, threw the WindClan warrior/deputy/leader off and into the dirt. The danger from Mudclaw was momentarily suspended. Brambleclaw looked up and saw Tawnypelt under Crowfeather and heard the dark warrior's hateful hiss, which turned his blood to ice, 'Leafpool is mine,' Crowfeather hissed. 'And I'm gonna show him what comes of trying to steal her. First I killed Brackenfur, now it's your turn... Wha?'

Enraged, Brambleclaw leaped up over two fighting cats and engaged Crowfeather in a separate mini-skirmish towards the edge of the main fray. He barely had time to feel annoyed that he had led him to her, when Crowfeather slashed at his belly and tore through his skin. Brambleclaw let out a scream of agony and dug his front claws into Crowfeather's face. Crowfeather fell to the ground and lay there, screaming a silent scream. Brambleclaw couldn't help collapsing next to him.

Then, things got worse. Onestar stalked up, Mudclaw only a couple of paces behind him. Brambleclaw watched in frozen horror as they walked through the heap of corpses. _Oh no..._ He twice tried and failed to stand up. Then, on the third attempt, he kept his balance.

'Whaddaya want?' he asked weakly.

'Hmm... Where to start? ThunderClan, ShadowClan, RiverClan- though we've practically got them already- StarClan, the Dark Forest...' Onestar listed, Mudclaw helpfully offering suggestions from behind him.

_Would it be easier to ask what you don't want? _He wondered, but said nothing. Clearly, the two cats thought they could take it easy and kill him at their leisure. They were probably right.

He had to keep them talking if he was going to stand a chance. 'And how, pray, are you going to achieve all that?'

'Brute force.' Mudclaw said joyfully.

Onestar rolled his eyes. 'He means carefully planned tactics and a genius plan.'

Brambleclaw thanked StarClan as he saw help come up from behind.


	8. Defend The Camp!

The huge badger lifted Onestar high above its head then threw him across the battlefield, took one look at Mudclaw and kicked him into the main battle.

Brambleclaw wasn't scared, not in the least.

'Hallo, Midnight.' He tried to smile.

The badger dipped her huge head to him and lumbered back into battle.

Brambleclaw, rejuvenated, ran at some WindClan cats fighting Firestar and clawed at them vigorously.

Brackenfur ran to Tawnypelt's side. 'Are you OK?' She just groaned. 'You need to see Leafpool.'

Crowfeather, the stupid so-and-so, had injured her badly. She was soaked in blood and losing strength quickly. Leafpool came up. 'Bring her to my den.' She mewed gravely.

As Leafpool walked through the entrance, she was greeted by a shocking sight. The camp was full of RiverClan warriors and being pulled apart. 'HELP!' she screeched at the top of her voice.

'HELP!'

Brackenfur turned at the cry. 'Leafpool?'

Calling for Brambleclaw and grabbing Tawnypelt, he moved as quickly as he could towards the camp.

His eyes widened in shock as he took in the scene.

'BRAMBLECLAW!' he repeated, louder.

Brambleclaw raced to camp, hoping he had misunderstood the tone of his friend's voice. It had sounded too much like fear.

He skidded into camp and his jaw dropped.

Running in and trying to chase RiverClan out, he yelled as loud as possible, 'FALL BACK! RETREAT! DEFEND THE CAMP!'

He saw a familiar cat. Leopardstar. 'Why are you doing this?' he asked her as he fought off some RiverClan warriors. 'You're meant to be our friends...' he whined. (Cut him some slack, battle is tiring!)

Out of breath and fighting Rowanclaw, she replied quietly, 'They... have... Mistyf- Oof!' She was cut off as Blackstar jumped on her.

As the rest of the warriors (and Midnight) streamed in, forcing RiverClan out, Brambleclaw felt dizzy. _So Onestar and Mudclaw have Mistyfoot. That's whyRiverClan have turned against us. _He cursed and, suddenly exhausted, limped into the medicine cat's den...


End file.
